Yatin in Peru

Coincidence

2006-09-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

After reading an article about Shamans and Ayahuasca (an intense peyote-type drink), going to Peru seemed like a good idea. This was January, and having bagged B-school, a trip sounded great…. a day dream. A month later, I happened to pick up a book where Ayahuasca unexpectedly popped up. 2 months later, I heard from a colorful old friend who had just returned from an intense Shaman tour in Peru! It didn’t cure his cancer, but Eddie dug the place, made tons of local friends, knew Shamans who make Ayahuasca(!), spoke of a dimensional vortex or Power Zone(??) he heard rumors about….and invited me to visit.

With these signs (and no full-time job), what choice did I have?

Film producers, cops, Amazon experts, theater troupe directors, con-artists, indigenous people, Incans, jungle Shamans, drunk farmers, and travelers of every stripe met me in cosmopolitan Lima, the rainforest and bandit towns of the north and the Sacred Valley of the south.

Water Cannon(!)

2006-09-04T04:01:00.000-07:00

My first morning in-country started with a bang (er, a chant). Drinking a morning beer (hey Eddie’s Irish!) in old downtown Lima, riot police begin streaming by, as distant chanting grows louder. There were crowds, police with glass shields, water cannons and lots of red-flags….a welcome to South America moment.

Church going

2006-09-04T03:47:00.000-07:00

Escaping the protest, I stepped into a colonial Catholic church. Every alcove (there were many) had a split-level diorama of a saint being tortured/martyred and underneath that was a body in an open coffin. Seeing human bones in the catacombs thru the floor vents added to the gloomy ambiance. Thought about the native people and cultures that were destroyed by the Spanish.

The Museum of the Inquisition across the street was even more of a bummer – showcasing incredible intolerance and torture (and torture tools), horrible dungeons, etc. Oddly enough the building was also where Peru’s constitution was written. The cherry on top of this whole strange day was the Museum's graphic anti-abortion exhibit (the kind the street preachers show off around Times Square).

So riot, religion, torture dungeons, and abortion stuff = my first day in Peru.

Anatomy Class on Wheels

2006-09-04T03:33:00.000-07:00

What could be better than being 10 year-old boy riding in a truck with a couple of your very own pig carcasses??

Mo' Anatomy

2006-09-04T03:25:00.000-07:00

...Maybe having your own skinned pig head to play with ;)

Meeting people

2006-09-04T03:13:00.000-07:00

I met interesting people thru out this travel. But the first was Carmella, my seatmate from LAX. The book of the film she’s producing, ‘A World for Julius’ became my road reading (I was gonna get the Motocycle Diaries, but was late to LAX). A famous coming of age epic about a poor rich kid and his unloving mother, it helped me kind of understand this place...

If the force is with C, it'll be a great film too!

Usless fact learned: October is Peruvian bullfighting season.

Vamos

2006-09-04T03:11:00.000-07:00

Lima is a big international city....which has a lot in comon with other big international citites. So having lived in several…

…we vamos to Tarapoto. In the Andes’ northern foothills and bordering the upper rainforest, Tarapoto is Eddie’s home-base and a small friendly city. Almost no one speaks English (except a friendly girl in the airline office)…..thus my retarded Spanish improved by leaps and bounds. While I saw very few beggars (true all over Peru), in the city center there was a row of handicapped people. A toddler in a stroller had normal-sized face but a head the size of a giant’s.

Cataracas swimming

2006-09-04T03:01:00.000-07:00

Went swimming at an incredibly high (200 ft+) waterfall outside of town…

Plan Changing

2006-09-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

In the white hat is Henri -- a Tarapoto cop – and his family.

Looking at this picture, I could pass for a Peruvian (if I was 6 inches shorter).

A native person, assistant Shaman guide and Eddie’s good friend, Henri triggered the first stage of our trek with the words "In Yurimaguas, there is Pepe..."

Henri’s plan was that from Yuri we would go up river by PQ PQ to Valsapuerto village. A shallow dugout canoe with a lawnmower engine, the name comes from the sound it makes. The 8 hour trip was something Eddie (a PQ PQ veteran) was dreading.

The next day things started changing… with the river so low, the boat trip would be 18 hours – including such fun cruise activities as dragging the boat over land and digging channels in the mud.

So… Henri got us a plane! We’d get to Valsapuerto in 20 minutes – 17 hours and 40 minutes less than the pq pq. Not a hard choice…even at double the price.

Mountain road and Student driver

2006-09-04T02:24:00.000-07:00

But first we had to get to Yurimaguas... Barrelling across dicey mountain roads and sliding around curves (the roads were sand and our tires bald), we saw trucks piled high with crates of chickens, tires and 100 other things. The best were the 'Beverly Hillbillies' trucks -- a couch precariously perched atop of a pile of furniture...with 2 people sitting on it. If the truck took too hard a turn, those guys would be flying off the mountain. Another time it wasn’t people but a dog up there – leg spread low…. roof surfing for dear life!

Having travelled in India, it wasn't too scary, but its only later I realized our driver was incredibly dangerous and inexperienced (3 months behind the wheel).

King of the Jungle (Sports)

2006-09-04T02:13:00.000-07:00

Volleyball was incredibly popular all over the jungle towns. I have no idea why.

Finding Pepe

2006-09-04T02:12:00.000-07:00

Yurimaguas is a sweaty little bandit town on the river…and the home of the mysterious Pepe.

We finally tracked him down at his computer school (guy on the right).

jack of all (jungle) trades

2006-09-04T02:10:00.000-07:00

This guy does it all – social activist, actor, director of an indigenous theater troupe (living in his house!), founder of a computer school, and all around rainforest ninja. Truly the Renassiance man of Yurimaguas. See biz card -->>

Abuela de Pepe

2006-09-04T02:08:00.000-07:00

His grandmother (with bird) had a little shaman in her…and probably some psychic ability – she gave me an Orange which later saved my life.

Teather troupe

2006-09-04T02:06:00.000-07:00

An entire theater troupe also lives with Pepe(!) His hut was gigantic – and while it didn’t have a phone or power it was electric -- full of prop, banners, flags, masks…and chickens.

Teatro2

2006-09-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

The troupe creates plays and films in the region's indigenous language. I saw video of them performing in masks…really mysterious and intriguing.

When I left, they were practicing behind Pepe’s computer school for a huge show –moaning and making all types of actions.

I was seeing an entirely different world view. I want to do a documentary on this scene! Like Merchant Ivory’s Shakespearewallah but in the rainforest.

getting Airborne

2006-09-04T02:03:00.000-07:00

Our ride awaited on a weedy runway. I’d never been in a Cessna before. And this was even more exciting because it was totally unexpected. These single engine planes are known as Doctor Killers for good reason… and if we have trouble over the jungle there’s no where to land.

But 20-minutes with the possibility of death beats 18 hours in a PQ PQ.

Eddie, who's had horrible experiences in Cessnas, was a bit nervous, but his desire to experience Companama (and hatred of the Pq Pq) won out.

AIRBORNE2

2006-09-04T02:02:00.000-07:00

Flying over cosmopolitian Yurimaguas, rice paddies and then rainforest canopy.

The river (an Amazon tributary), looking like chocolate milk blended with carrot juice, snakes below.

PQ PQs navigate and fishermen wade across. A dusting of slash and burn fires stretch to the horizon. Occasional riverside hamlets – each progressively smaller.

Landing (Jungle style)

2006-09-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Fires fade, the forest dominates. Passing between hills. The Cessna begins a spiral descent. We’re tilted at 35 degrees as Valsapuerto comes into view. A radio tower, a couple cement buildings, dirt paths…. No roads, no paved surfaces… and no runways!

I shot video of our landing ....so if we crashed and died there would be a record for you all.

And for those really interested, here's 2 more airborne clips

Companama hills fly-by

Yurimaguas take-off

Our Entourage

2006-09-04T01:29:00.000-07:00

A welcoming committee gathers – mostly kids of course. It’s not everyday a plane lands on your playground! We are the objects of attention…my 15 seconds of fame.

The people here are mostly indigenous. And they are quite shy with me. But Pepe is another story – he’s really popular b/c he helps locals in many ways.

Excessive smiling to convey friendliness is my very American habit and I quickly stop. Smiling has different connotations in different cultures and I sense this action is considered odd. The people are quiet, not asking questions, but certainly interested. They are not shy about being observant and looking.

The plane sends a huge dust cloud into our entourage and we all scurry.

To the headman's house

2006-09-04T01:26:00.001-07:00

Valsapuerto village is famous because everyone is super smart. On a bluff over the river, it felt a lot like Florida in early Summer – strong sun and a little dry.

In the Jefe’s hut, people lean into the open windows and stare at us. Its moments like these I wish I spoke their native tongue, I would have loved to learn more about them as they would about me. Instead we looked at each other. We were the entertainment...weird but cool.

Hangin' with the Jefe

2006-09-04T01:26:00.000-07:00

I'll call the hammock guy the Jefe (he's the boss of village jobs). His child Laurie was quite a firecracker and first local to really engage me.

Eddie had heard a lot about Power Zone (Companama), and was hoping to meet some aliens there. This may sound odd, but its not. Peru (and especially its south desert coast) is famous for having the world’s most UFO sightings and alien visits. Aliens also visit Companama and the surrounding forest for some reason.

From his hammock, the Jefe spoke. He had an incredible alien experience....but I don’t really know exactly what because in this context my Spanish really sucked. As a road engineer he was with a crew and they saw or met some beings…and he dramatically reminisced for 10 minutes. I picked up a word or two and nodded my head. Damn!

If anyone reading this ever goes, and if your Spanish is better than mine, you will know the rest of the story!

After Lunch entertainment

2006-09-04T01:25:00.000-07:00

Besides the lost-in-translation aliens, after our lunch, the left-overs were flung to the ground....which is where a 2 stage (chicken, then pig) feeding frenzy ensued. It was fun to watch and I didn't even have to leave the dinner table to get a top-notch view of the action!!

River Crossing

2006-09-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

The hike initially followed this river. It was walk-in-the-park pleasant -- incredibly lush orange flower covered trees and cool river breezes. But at 1/8 of a mile wide, crossing it was a major ordeal.

After that the going got tough-- we waded thru another 15-20 smaller streams and up and down some major hills. Passing hamlets-- a cluster of 3 or 4 palm-covered homes in cleared fields. Cows and farming. While locals thought I was Brazilian(?!?), excited kids seeing Eddie would shout ‘Gringo’ and then observe from a distance. Understandable as only about 100 outsiders go to Companama a year.

Meetings along the way

2006-09-04T01:23:00.000-07:00

The further we got, the narrower the trail and the fewer homes. The indigenous women were increasingly topless and they had striking red face paint (as make-up) – like the stripes football players wear under their eyes. The world is a small place, and the jungle people we met, while gentle and reserved, are well aware of the outside world. I have a lot of respect for them….and again so wished I spoke their language. Some locals bartered us some beans and a necklace with an amazing beaded crocodile pendant.

Another Jungle Meeting

2006-09-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

Eddie ran into a friend (that’s how things happen in the jungle) who had helped him during his last visit in a faraway region. So the odds of us crossing paths here....well probably the same as hitting the trifecta at the horse track.

Worst-case Scenario

2006-09-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

5 hours later, getting close, but moving slow; we lost light and were eventually hiking thru the night. The path got narrower and after crossing a couple huge fallen trees, Pepe realized we were no longer on the trail.

Lost in the Amazon. It’s not the “Mall parking lot”-lost It’s “deep jungle at night/people die here”-lost. My mind was racing – what could we do? Camp here without the gear (porters had dropped off our stuff at the site)? What would happen to Eddie? At this point, beyond physical exhaustion, only his intense desire to experience Companama somehow kept him moving. That’s when the sound of unseen waterfalls took on an ominous ‘you’re really in the middle of the wild’ tone.

20 minutes later, Pepe found the trail and we were there!

European friends had described Companama like it was Godhead – a dimensional vortex of earth energies. One of them ran away the first time he visited the place! With these stories in mind, actually being there…..wow….Eddie and I chuckled, we realized those guys were more messed up than we thought ;)

COMPANAMA: we arrive!

2006-09-04T01:19:00.001-07:00

No space aliens or ghosts of departed loved ones visited us. But there was a huge boulder the size of a house (a narrow cave lies underneath it where spirits enter and exit), a primitive camp area 50 feet away, and several waterfalls 50 feet below. And millions of flying insects; levitating iridescent jewels – they sucked the sweat/salt off our skin but never bit.

The only boulder on a flat rockless plain, made long ago natives consider this a powerful place. Carvings of tigers and faces...in a sort of Aboriginal style. This is the 'good rock.' Another rock -- the 'bad rock' (half the size but not pictured) was used for human sacrifices....it had indentations on the top where bodies were laid. Thin carved channels (which wound like the river we flew over) spread the blood over the rock.

Leaving 40 hours later, I realized the power others described was true, just in an incredibly sublime way.

Ayahuasca Tea

2006-09-04T01:19:00.000-07:00

Eddie’s passed out in his Hammock. A double-cauldron bubbles over a fire. Pepe's gathered herbs and now in the fire-light, 2 shiny bowls of Ayahuasca tea facing me. I drink. I go to puke. I return...and another 2 are waiting. Its endless!!

Yes its supposed to make you throw up….they call it ‘Limpia’ (cleansing).

After much vomitar/limpiar (after every bowl), I could teach aspiring bulimics a technique or two. But no major visions – just a slight vision tweak that first night, and I saw some of my own personality traits in a new light.

Hints of what was to come…but nothing I knew of as I crashed in my hammock. Leaning over to puke occasionally throughout the night, I was wiped.

7 Falls 7 Pools

2006-09-04T01:18:00.001-07:00

Sunrise heralds a shift change. The daytime insects take over from the nighttime chirpers. A whole new riot of sound wakes me up. A short bit below our camp, a forest gorge with several waterfalls – 7 steps and 7 pools. Each step (by cramming yourself into the falling water) gave a different type of massage – back, legs, etc. The corresponding pools, cut deep and surrounded by towering cliffs of green, were great swimming holes. One was known as the transforming pool, it was super deep.

A double waterfall with a rock in the middle was the perfect meditation point – all the travails of the journey forgotten -- a butterfly the size of a laptop, flutters by. Shiny blue and black. Another neon green one swung by later. Me on the rock, a waterfall of either side....soaking it all in. Everything felt sacred in a perfectly natural way.

Welcome to Companama.

Jungle Ninja

2006-09-04T01:18:00.000-07:00

Holding an ant, Pepe prodded its tail-bulb and all of a sudden the area smelt like oranges. A real jungle ninja – he showed us many fascinating things.

In a Tree

2006-09-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

Amazing things all around – trees 30 feet wide and 300 feet high. Incredibly dangerous insects. Plants that cure just about everything. I tasted cane good for bronchitis to chicle (the base ingredient for gum) and several other things. The forest provides all.

The Journey Begins

2006-09-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

Mauriztio the shaman arrives after dusk. He speaks to Pepe; we connect eyes but do not talk. The session will be by the big boulder. Everything is lit by the moon. Blue light, big rock, tall trees; singing insects, distant waterfall pounding.

Sitting Indian-style, I’ve just downed 2 tiny Aya-filled shots. No weak tea tonight. The ceremony began with tobacco smoke exhaled around me, cocoa leaves shaking and then (much later) Shamanic chanting.

After puking (now I'm a pro), returning to the boulder, my vision shifted a pixel or two. the first thing I saw: a bundle of energy – flat, 2D and made of thin horizontal red lines – escaping from the grass and into the boulder. It was diamond shaped and smallish and I never saw another shape like it. Later I recalled Pepe mentioning the cave under the boulder is the spirits’ portal.

Ayahuasca -- seeing things

2006-09-04T01:14:00.000-07:00

The Shaman and his cocoa leaves.

Red energy halos outlined the clearing’s grasses. Flat, abstract red energy worms appeared. My arms’ veins were pulsing with the same red light energy; but these were fluid straw-like bundles. A light worm entered my finger, merging completely into my arteries’ energy. After this more visions, different colored animated shapes – blue and white energy worms, grasses and abstract insects….nothing too realistic looking, but all organic.

My energy-worm filled world expands

2006-09-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

I was so out of it..... After the 3^rd bowl of Aya (just smelling it made me puke), I couldn't sit up anymore. I was laid out the rest of the night and it was an ordeal to even lift my head for the next 4 hours.

But my brain was now functioning on 2 separate levels -- the visions continued but I began receiving revelations. Visions and revelations were totally independent of one another. I first felt I was an old man dying -- my body shutting down, but my brain fully aware. It was the worst feeling – I know if I do not do the things for myself and others that will make me happy, no matter when I sense my death calling – 10 days or 100 years from now, I will have many regrets….

But if I begin to do everything I know I should do, I will have never fear an obvious approaching death. Another 5 and a half revelations hit me – 2 concrete details, 3 more open-ended but incredibly revealing of my personal relations. And one that’s been eating at me for 3 years (make my film dammit!)…so that’s the .5.

None of these were vague…these are things I must act on if I am to live a good life.

In India, a former con-man, now guru (the opposite path of most holy men!) once told me “awareness is choiceless.” Right then I knew I was given a gift; one which was important to me as a concept. But now it means something on a personal level. Only through acting upon knowledge can a good life be realized.

Ayahuasca Afterglow

2006-09-04T01:10:00.001-07:00

Maybe 3 long hours later, the hallucinations wore off. Everyone else went to their distant hammocks. There was no way I could even physically get up, let alone sleep in a swaying hammock. I was totally wiped and remained at the base of the rock in almost full moon light. Alone, lying on the hard earth, amazed and awake for hours...I digested everything.

A symphony of insects and waterfall sounds; above me, an almost full moon. Backlit clouds scoot across the sky. Eye and ear candy to occupy my senses as I more rationally connected with what I had just learned.

Rock framing one side and the trees the other 3; and while minus the moon and clouds, this photo above approximates my POV. Lying on the ground this was my window.

Exhausted but incredibly alert, I was in and out of sleep. Everytime I opened my eyes, the clouds had changed (I saw mostly crude fish with huge fangs and aerial views of tropical islands). Ayahuasca’s afterglow enveloped me in a super-creative state….and I filled in my life’s blanks. The moon arced from the 11 to the 3 o'clock position.

Lying on the ground that night, not one snake or insect bit me. Did Companama really have some kind of sublime power? Or maybe critters just disliked the smell of Ayahuasca ;)

Good bye Companama, Hello Heatstroke

2006-09-04T01:10:00.000-07:00

Hiking back was quick, but the day was incredibly hot and our water was soon gone. Being vegetarian in Peru (I learned to hate ensalada), I had already lost 10 lbs.... and puking my guts out with the Aya, didn’t help in the endurance department. So here I was; lying on the ground with no energy to continue. Just like the addicts I see sprawled out on the sidewalks of my downtown LA hood.

Suddenly I remembered the orange Pepe’s grandma had given me. Full of sugar and water, it did the trick. 30 minutes later we were in Valsapuerto. We heard the plane. The kids ran out. A super bumpy ride (the heat does it). Yurimaguas.

Mighty moto-taxi: beast of the jungle road

2006-09-04T01:09:00.000-07:00

Intown, there are almost no cars and people get around on scooters and moto-taxis – basically bicycle rickshaws made of motorcycles. Think autorickshaw on steroids ;)

Rest-stop, Jungle style

2006-09-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

The Brazilians are building the contreversial Pan-Amazon Highway. Opening the forest further to development and exploitation, it is a double edged sword – the locals hope for economic gain, it’ll likely accelerate rainforest destruction. I also recently heard the Peruvian government has granted oil companies all rights to indigenous peoples' domains. In a place where the jungle and land provides everything, drilling run-offs are not a good thing. And the forest dwellers this most affects won’t get a penny.

Planes, trains, combi-taxis....and Cuzco

2006-09-04T01:07:00.000-07:00

Henri put the fear of God in me about Cuzco. Everyone is a crook -- cops, vendors, women, children, etc. They’ll drug you, beat you; steal your money and passport. Ahh it wasn’t so bad….Cuzco is basically an ancient version of Daytona Beach – a tourist town, with all the tackiness that implies….so I felt right at home!

This was the capital of the Incan empire and their descendants are still around. They’re a good looking bunch and the ones I met were most honest and naturally proud.

Now traveling solo (Eddie remained in Tarapoto), packed into a combi taxi with 6 Incans and zipping across the alpine plateaus. Very Motorcycles Diaries. 2 hours, $2 and incredible high country unfolding all around me. Plateaus, snow covered mountains, streams, fields, and farms. My seatmate – a vendor in Macchu Pichu – helped pass the time (Russians were the cheapest spenders, with Indians not far behind). We had to switch cars twice before reaching Ollyantambo that night – the last town in the Sacred Valley before MP.

Set in a dramatic valley of standing ruins, Olly was a living Incan village. It was icy streams, old plazas and Incan markets (30 types of potatoes); several restaurants, hotels and hostels, but minus Cuzco’s Euro-masses and grifters. The locals were friendly…as were the strays! These dogs were fat, healthy and playful – more like the village’s communal pets. They loved playing with the village kids and even us tourists. A place full of great vibes.

Track to Macchu Pichu

2006-09-04T01:06:00.000-07:00

Getting the train is a major ordeal. Seats are limited and sell out quickly. The train is a toy train -- riding on a narrow gauge track. The Valley looks like a slightly arid Switzerland – fields, mountains, streams and alpine forest.

On the mountain

2006-09-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

Ruins are all over the Sacred Valley, but what makes MP special is its setting. Surrounded by mountains that look like jagged green dragon’s teeth, but on its own steep mountaintop, MP is like a massive Zen garden on the roof of the world. The Incans were master builders and urban planners – dividing the village into farming, urban, religious and royal zones – with a plaza and ball court connecting everything.

Lama Lama Lama

2006-09-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

As anyone whose watched the “Emperor’s New Groove” knows (yes, I cut for Toon Disney), where there are Incas…there are Lamas!!

But unlike Olly’s mutts, these bastards are mean.

an MP Point of View

2006-09-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

MP’s a really blissed out summer-y mountain place. Me and Britney – a travel friend (from Brooklyn) – hiked to the Sun Gate. This is where the hardcore trekkers who do the 4 day Inca trail first see MP. 45 minutes was tough (forget 4 days!) but the ancient Incas, anticipating future generations of weak out of shape Americans, had built rest stops all along the way.

I ran out of film right about here….so no more pictures.

FYI Macchu Pichu is sinking….and rumor has it they’re going to restrict access, keeping visitors at a distance….so hurry up and get there!

Lima: the city not the bean

2006-09-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

In swank Miraflores (the fancy part of Lima), I hooked up with Carmella (the film producer) and her friend Yasmine. They were awesome people and knew half the town. Hitting wine bars, art galleries and bistros was a culture shock after the jungle. Yasmine heads the Orient Express train company in Peru and has traveled all over the world. Carmella had just produced a film about Ayahuasca….so we had lots to talk about!

And 2 hours later I was on a plane back to LA.

This isn’t even a third of even the good stuff that happened. The other funny/scary/absurd and telling experiences are all great in conversation but too tiny to mention in writing. So I’ll save those for when we meet one day ;)

Peace&Love